Israel forms emergency unity government

The news: Israel formed an emergency unity government on Wednesday as its jets pounded Gaza and tanks massed around the Palestinian enclave.

The numbers: Israel's death toll from Hamas militants' weekend rampage rose to 1,200 with over 2,700 wounded, its military said. Israeli reprisal strikes on blockaded Gaza have killed 1,100 people and wounded 5,339, Gaza's Health Ministry said, with some 535 residential buildings destroyed, leaving around 250,000 homeless.

The context: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to form a war cabinet with former defence minister and centrist opposition party leader Benny Gantz and focus entirely on the conflict, according to a statement from Gantz's National Unity party. Israel has deployed formations of tanks and armoured vehicles near Gaza in possible preparation for a ground offensive into the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave, after vowing swift punishment for the deadliest Palestinian militant attack in its 75-year history.